With the rapid advancement of electronic technology, information processing in mobile communication, servers, cloud storage and other electronic products has incessantly directed toward high frequency signal transmission and high speed digitalization, and low dielectric resin material has become the mainstream for the development of laminates for high speed data transmission in order to satisfy the demands of high speed information transmission and processing in the cloud technology and terminal servers. Therefore, major criteria of copper-clad laminates include high reliability, high moisture/thermal resistance, low dielectric constant, low dissipation factor and high dimensional stability of the material. As such, there is a need for a high performance novel material with excellent dielectric properties for printed circuit boards.
Polyphenylene oxide (PPO or PPE) has the advantages of low dielectric constant and low dissipation factor, making it a desirable material for a high frequency PCB. However, conventional PPOs, such as dihydroxyl-terminated PPO and bis(vinylbenzyl)-terminated PPO, still fail to meet the need in use, such as one or more unsatisfactory properties including flame retardancy, thermal resistance, dielectric constant, dissipation factor, toughness, reactivity, viscosity and solubility. Therefore, there is a need for an improved PPO to meet the demands in production process and product properties.